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Fanfiction Fridays: Lunch and Other Obscenities

When it comes to fanfiction, what I read is about 90% shippy, whether it’s het, slash, or femslash. I look to fanfic to portray in-show, -book, or -movie relationships in a way I wish their source text would and so I tend to avoid gen fanfic. In fact, I’ve probably linked to most of the gen fanfic I’ve ever really liked already in this segment. But every once in a while I come across something that’s really great, and Lunch and Other Obscenities by Rheanna27 is one such fanfic.

This story is set in the Star Trek reboot (aka Star Trek XI) universe, and focuses on the relationship between Gaila and Uhura as they start at Starfleet. They’re assigned as roommates because Gaila’s last name is transliterated Uhu, and they immediately start off on the wrong foot. It’s less that they dislike each other as people, and more that both of them adhere to cultural norms, which, though totally acceptable by their species’ standards, the other finds taboo and gross. Over the course of the fic, Uhura learns to question what she sees as ‘normal’, to accept the things she first considers ‘weird’, and that effective cross-cultural translation can save both relationships and lives. And, okay, it does have a teensy bit of Spock/Uhura in there but it’s not at all the focus of the fic, and their relationship is canon in nu!Trek, so I still consider gen fic.

I discovered it on a list of fanfic that passed the Bechdel test, and I found it a really refreshing portrayal of female friendship as well as an intriguing look at the way norms can differ across cultures and the way things that are second nature to one group can be absolutely taboo to another group, without either group being necessarily morally superior.

About Lady Saika

"We lead frantic lives. Filled with needs and responsibilities, but completely devoid of any actual purpose. I say let’s try to enjoy the simple things. Life should be like a basket of chicken wings: salty, full of fat and vinegar, and surrounded by celery you’ll never actually eat, even when you’re greedily sopping up the last viscous streaks of buffalo sauce from the wax paper with your spit-stained index finger. Yes, that is as life should be, Night Vale."